'Iron Man 2' and 'Thor'

Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada has been talking a lot lately about upcoming Marvel projects including "Iron Man 2" and "Thor."

Quesada posted some comments on his web column Cup ‘O Joe about both projects, such as what direction the movies are being taken in and a bit about what it’s like working with directors Jon Favreau ("Iron Man 2") and Kenneth Branagh ("Thor").

On Iron Man 2:

Favreau is really, really intense and very cerebral. I remember having a dinner at Comic-Con, I want to say three years ago, where he just grabbed me…He introduced himself to me, put his hand on my shoulder, sat me down at a table, and we just sat there and talked. We almost skipped dinner…we just sat there and talked Iron Man, and he wanted to know who he is and why Tony Stark does what he does. That was really key to Favreau: why put on the suit and try to do good things? It was a much tougher question once he defeats the Iron Monger, gets his tech and his company back…why continue doing this? What does Tony Stark stand for?

In essence, the thing I never revealed about that conversation in the past is that Jon was looking for these answers because he was already thinking ahead, he was thinking about "Iron Man 2." See, it doesn’t quite work on film that he goes and stops a little lady from getting mugged. While that may be an ancillary part of it, when you have that suit of armor, the world’s greatest weapon, the story has to be bigger, and your reason for being has to be bigger. But at the same time, it has to be small and streamlined enough that an audience can grab hold of it. Favreau is all about that. And at the same time, where do Tony’s allegiances lie? It was almost the same kind of questions we had during Civil War. So time with Favreau is sort of spent quietly huddling and talking about a character’s reason for doing what he does. Again, that’s also a part of that Marvel formula.

On Thor:

We had one big creative meeting with the Marvel Creative Committee, which now works on all of our movies and I have the honor to be a part of. We sat with Kenneth and discussed the “Thor” movie and the overarching story of what that’s going to be, just to give our input before anything was put down to paper by screenwriters. And it was one of the highlights of my time here at Marvel because not only did Branagh sit there and give you the story beat for beat, he and [Marvel Studios head] Kevin Feige formed a great team.

It was performance art. Kevin would give us the establishment of the shot and the situation: “Here we are. We’re in (take your pick of location). And here’s Odin and he’s coming up to (pick a character).” And then Kenneth would come in and give you the color commentary. “Odin has an air of majesty to him” and he’d act out the Odin part or the Thor part. So we sat there and literally got a three-hour one-man show from Kenneth Branagh. It was fantastic. People pay a lot of money for that kind of performance by one of the world’s greatest living actors.

He’s very Shakespearean in his delivery. He’d sit there and give us the emotions between the characters as they are in scenes – what the character’s motivation is in that particular moment and how it relates to the overarching story of the movie. He’s definitely about character, which is the quintessential trait you have to have to understand the Marvel characters. It’s not just big hammers and capes and things like that. It’s about what makes the character tick. There’s definitely a reason for Thor, a reason for him being and a very deep family relationship and story in the movie that I think is going to be very cool. Oh yeah, and there’s reasons and motivations for him to hit people with his hammer… hard!

Both are great quotes that hint at Quesada’s attitude about both "Iron Man 2" and "Thor," but if you feel you need to get the full scoop, feel free to take a dip in the Cup ‘O Joe.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Screen Rant, Slash Film

'Transformers 2' Facts and Figures

Michael Bay has posted a fun little update on his own blog with facts and figures from "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." He lists facts and figures regarding the technical or digital side, including how much diskspace was required to store everything at ILM or how long it took to render certain frames of the movie. Not only is it crazy just to see how much bigger and better they made this movie, but it sheds some light onto how incredible ILM is.

Robots:
» 14 robots last time, 46 robots this time (ILM only).
» Devastator’s hand is traveling 390 miles per hour when he punches the pyramid.
» All robot parts laid out end to end would stretch from one side of California to the other, about 180 miles.

Disk space:
» TF1 took 20 Terabytes of disk space. TF2 took 145 Terabytes. Seven times bigger!
» 145 terabytes would fill 35,000 DVDs. Stacked one on top of the other without storage cases, they would be 145 feet tall.

Rendering times:
» If you rendered the entire movie on a modern home PC, you would have had to start the renders 16,000 years ago (when cave paintings like the Hall of Bulls were being made) to finish for this year’s premiere!
» A single IMAX shot in the movie (df250) would have taken almost 3 years to render on a top of the line home PC running nonstop.
» IMAX frame render times: As high as 72 hours per frame!

IMAX:
» Optimus Prime will be life size on IMAX screens in many forest fight shots.
» IMAX frames take about 6 times longer than anamorphic to render.

Devastator:
» Devastator is as tall as a 10 story building.
» Devastator has more than 10 times the number of individual parts found in an average car.

Don't forget that "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" has at least three full scenes shot in IMAX!

Head over to MichaelBay.com for even more facts and figures on this film that comes out next week.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: First Showing

Another Classic Monster Film Remake

Universal is eager to develop reboots of its library of classic monster titles, insiders in the development community said. It is developing a new version of “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” the 1954 Jack Arnold pic about a monstrous fish that a group of travelers encounters in the Amazon, and later this year it will release the Benicio Del Toro-toplined “The Wolf Man,” an update on George Waggner’s 1941 werewolf tale.

“Frankenstein” has been remade numerous times — Mary Shelley’s book sits in the public domain — but “Bride of Frankenstein” has had only one other go-round on the big screen: a 1985 version ("The Bride") at Columbia starring Sting and Jennifer Beals.

Now Universal and Imagine are breathing new life into “Bride of Frankenstein." The companies are in talks with Neil Burger to write and direct their long-stirring remake of the 1935 monster movie. Burger, who would pen the script with writing partner Dirk Wittenborn, most prominently wrote and helmed “The Illusionist.”

At one point, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini had written an updated take that set the story in contemporary New York, with a young woman dying and being brought back to life. Apparently Burger's version will differ significantly, however, we're not sure if it he'll still set it in modern times or not. Considering "The Illusionist" was a great period piece, one might assume he'll go period again.

James Whale's original "Bride of Frankenstein," which again starred Boris Karloff as the monster and Elsa Lanchester as the bride, continued the story that began with 1931's "Frankenstein." A monster, on the run from an angry mob, has a series of adventures and also persuades Dr. Frankenstein to create a mate. The doctor is successful, but the bride (who is not a central character anyway) winds up rejecting the monster at the end of the movie.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Risky Biz Blog, Rope of Silicon, First Showing

'Red Sonja'

Last year a new movie adaptation of "Red Sonja" was announced, with plans to film it in 2008 and release it sometime this year, as the date on promotional posters indicated.

"Sin City" director Robert Rodriguez was to produce the project, which will star his fiancee Rose McGowan ("Charmed") as the so-called 'she-devil with a sword'.

After the remake was announced, all went quiet.

But now executive producer Joe Gatta has explained what is happening with this project and when we can expect to see it hit the big screen.

Gatta said the movie had been delayed and the intention is to film "Red Sonja" in 2010. The aim is to release it late that same year.

Gatta, who's also producing the "Conan" remake, told Empire magazine: "Because of certain issues and the economy, we had to change our plan a bit. It's frustrating because we thought we'd make the movie last year, before 'Conan.'"

He is confident "Red Sonja" will go before cameras in 2010, and confirms it will be an origin story that ignores the previous movie and is instead based on the original Marvel comic book heroine created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith in 1973.

Gatta had last month told Empire Online: "I would say though the emphasis is on 'Conan' [rather than 'Red Sonja']. It's our crown jewel here at the company and that will be the leader. 'Red Sonja' probably won't happen until next year, as far as making it goes. So we want to launch 'Conan' and reinvent the franchise."
The earlier "Red Sonja" movie starred Brigitte Nielsen and was released back in 1985 and directed by the late Richard Fleischer - whose track record in fantasy and adventure material included "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea," "Fantastic Voyage" and "Soylent Green" - his attempt at the flame-haired warrior heroine was a flop.

Critics have called it 'hilariously awful', 'dull' and 'unwatchably bad sword-and-sorcery nonsense'. Unsurprisingly, this version will be disregarded entirely for the proposed remake.

The new "Red Sonja" film will be directed by Rodriguez' long-time associate Douglas Aarniokoski, who helmed "Highlander: Endgame" in 2000 and whose credits are mainly as an assistant director on such films as "Spy Kids," "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" and "Resident Evil: Extinction."

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: The Geek Files

'Star Trek 2'

Script writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kutzman sat down recently with SciFiWire to discuss their thoughts on "Star Trek’s" success, where they might take the franchise down the road and what type of story the sequel might follow. Both writers have their heads together when they both have the same thought for the franchise: DON’T LET IT SUCK!

There is nothing set in stone as far as they are concerned and they haven’t even started working on a script yet (unless you count agreeing to do another movie as working). Orci said during the interview:

“We’re going to start thinking about it any second now. But we’re still just having a mental sorbet before we jump back in. And, you know, just seeing all the reactions to the movie. We want to make sure we take it all in and really figure out what worked and what didn’t and proceed from there. But now that we have … an open canvas, … anything can happen.”

Hopefully "Star Trek 2" will be as good as "Star Trek", but it all starts with the story and if they don’t pick the right one to tell in "Star Trek 2" then the whole franchise will fail before it really ever gets started. Orci has a grasp of that concept though:

“[you] just can’t use old things willy-nilly,… there’s still an internal logic that has to be followed. … We could still cross some lines [if] we think, “Oh, we can do anything now.” And a savvy fan will go, “Well, technically, [you can't].”

He is right on that statement because some plot points and questions about physics are to be expected; it is, after all, a science fiction movie about traveling through space with aliens while moving faster than the speed of light.

As far as the story goes, Orci and Kutzman aren’t sure if they will follow a new original concept that stays within the parameters of the Trek universe, re-tell another modified story from the show or mash the two ideas together. I wouldn’t plan on hearing anything about the script either until after "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (they wrote that too) starts winding down and they have time to regroup their thoughts.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: Screen Rant

Movie News Mash 19

"We3"
Don Murphy, one of the producers of the planned adaptation of Grant Morrison’s graphic novel "We3," spoke with Sci Fi Wire about the film. According to the producer, “We3″ is ready with a script and a director — all it needs now is a studio.

“We’re working with a director named John Stevenson,” Murphy said. “Don’t be confused, though. Even though he directed ‘Kung Fu Panda,’ the movie’s going to be live action. It’s going to be a combination CG, puppetry [and] real animals. We have a great script, a great director, and we’re trying to figure out who’s going to pay for it in this marketplace, but we’re looking.”

The similarly themed weaponized guinea-pig movie "G-Force" does not worry Murphy either. "'G-Force' is an animated film about animals talking and farting a lot," he said. (The film actually mixes animation and live action.) "This is very realistic."

Described as an amalgamation of “Homeward Bound” and “RoboCop,” Morrison’s “We3″ focused on three domestic animals — a dog, a cat and a rabbit — that are turned into high-tech, cybernetic weapons courtesy of the military. The animals eventually flee their masters, but are left to wonder where they can exist peacefully in the outside world.
(MTV News)

"The Birds"
On the set of Platinum Dunes’ (Michael Bay’s production company) "A Nightmare on Elm Street" remake, producer Brian Fuller explained why the idea of a "Birds" remake presents problems for them - “We lay ourselves out there and get annihilated out there online all day long and [The Birds] just opens us up to a whole different level of annihilation.” In simple terms, Fuller says that, “…it doesn’t feel like that’s [The Birds is] up next for us.”

Fuller and co-producer Andrew Form pointed out a specific problem with remaking "The Birds," other than the fact they’re remaking it, of course. The idea of birds attacking may have worked in the ’60s, under the skillful watch and guidance of the late-great Mr. Hitchcock, but the two producers have said that all birds do is, “peck and poke,” and that, “there’s not a lot of variety as to what can happen.”
(Screen Rant)

"The Three Stooges"
Actor Sean Penn, after winning his second Oscar for his performance in last year's "Milk," has decided to take up to a year off in order to resolve some personal matters, according to several sources in Hollywood, including the Hollywood Reporter. Word is that he's had private conversations where he's said that he doesn't want to work "right away" and wants to "regroup" and "just needs personal time."

So that means the 48-year-old actor will not be playing in MGM's "Three Stooges," where he was set to play Larry as written and directed by the Farrelly Brothers.
(First Showing)

More news to come! Catch ya' later!

'Indiana Jones 5' is Gearing Up

While doing the press rounds for the forthcoming "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen," Shia LaBeouf spoke about his up and coming projects with BBC. The young star revealed that a new "Indiana Jones" film is on the way and that he is excited to be starring in "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps" opposite Michael Douglas.

With regards to the fifth installment in the "Indiana Jones" franchise La Beouf said:

“Steven just said that he cracked the story on it before I left and I think they’re gearing that up.”

This doesn’t mean that the film is anywhere near production. It took a decade before Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford agreed on a script before "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" hit the screen.

Last summer’s installment of the "Indy" franchise grossed almost $800 million, so bet on seeing a fifth film sooner rather than later with LaBeouf returning as Indy’s son. It was recently revealed that Harrison Ford received $65 million for starring in the sequel!

So what do you think about another "Indiana Jones" movie considering how the last one turned out?

"Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen "starring LaBeouf and Megan Fox opens on June 24.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: Screen Rant
Watch the entire interview at BBC!

Machete

Robert Rodriguez announced back in April that he would be making a film based off of a fake trailer shown during "Grindhouse" The trailer showed Danny Trejo as a Mexican laborer who becomes an assassin (watch the trailer below and yes, it is supposed to look like messed up film).

Rodriguez currently has a full schedule of movies to make including "Predators," a sci-fi action movie called "Nerverackers," "Sin City 2" and "The Jetsons."

Now Rodriguez’s "Machete" is set to start filming in five weeks, as learned by Web site Gordon and the Whale during an interview with the star of the film, professional Mexican badass, Danny Trejo.

As Gordon & The Whale's James Wallace says, "Guess that ends the debate on what Rodriguez’s next film is going to be." Not that we thought it would be anything else - that April announcement did say "Rodriguez is eyeing a June start date in Austin." He's also bringing on Ethan Maniquis, his longtime editor, to help co-direct.

While Trejo let it be known that "Machete" was on the way, he also dropped a bad bit of news: despite widespread reports to the contrary, Danny Trejo has not been cast in Sylvester Stallone’s action flick throwback, "The Expendables."

That is too bad because that movie is going to be pumped full of testosterone, but as I expect, "Machete" shall be pretty manly as well.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
WARNING: TRAILER BELOW CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, GORE and NUDITY

Sources: Gordan and the Whale, First Showing, Screen Rant